Paso Robles father found dead in pond remembered as ‘really nice, really funny’
Update to this story >> >> What happened to Hugo Diaz de Alva? Family mystified after Paso Robles death
Original story:
The Paso Robles man found dead floating in a pond at the Franklin Hot Springs recreation area Thursday morning was a dedicated father, Alaskan commercial fisherman and a former Paso Robles Walmart employee, according to friends and former coworkers.
Hugo Diaz de Alva, 26, was found dead about 10:15 a.m. in one of the multiple ponds where people fish near the hot springs.
Sheriff’s Office detectives are planning to conduct an autopsy on Tuesday to determine the manner and cause of death. A toxicology test will be conducted as well; results typically take six to eight weeks, according to sheriff’s spokesman Tony Cipolla.
Cipolla said the reason as to why Diaz de Alba died is under investigation.
“The toxicology testing will help determine any substances and the quantities of those substances in his system,” Cipolla said in an email. “The investigation itself, which is still active, should also provide some details of what led up to his death.”
‘Really nice, really funny’
According to friends and former coworkers, some of whom asked not to be named, Diaz was most recently a commercial fisherman in Alaska.
Before that he worked in the automotive department at Walmart in Paso Robles where he grew up, attending public schools from elementary through high school and graduating from Paso Robles High.
“I was shocked to hear the news,” said Shannon Odom, a Walmart employee. “He worked his butt off. He was a tiny little guy — really nice, really funny.”
Other former coworkers at Walmart said that Diaz de Alva worked at the store for multiple years in various capacities, the last of them in the automotive department.
He held that job before he embarked on his career as a fisherman in the Pacific Northwest, where Diaz de Alva spent weeks at a time before returning home for vacation stretches.
One Walmart employee, who identified herself just as Sonia, said that Diaz de Alva was an “outgoing, good guy. ... We thought the world of him.”
Diaz de Alva leaves behind a 6-year-old son, whom he was “co-parenting” with the boy’s mother, according to a friend who asked not to be named out of respect for his family.
Social media posts reveal Diaz de Alba’s comments about his family, including his son and his father, Hugo Flores, whom he called the “best mentor in his life.”
On Instagram, Diaz de Alva wrote about his boy in 2018: “I’m constantly looking at pictures of my son to remind me why I’m here. Sacrifices are not easy and failure is not an option. It’s all done for you.”
Hot springs closes for a day
The co-owner of Franklin Hot Springs, Cindy Franklin, said that her business shut down Thursday out of respect for the man’s family. It re-opened Friday.
Franklin said that she and others spoke with sheriff’s investigators but declined to go into detail about what information they shared.
“It shook us up, but we called 911 immediately and did what we could,” Franklin said. “We didn’t know who he was. He was a new guest. This is really sad, and we feel for his family.”
Franklin Hot Springs — which charges fees for visitor use — posted this note on Facebook: “We send our heartfelt condolences to the family of a gentleman who passed away this week at our facility.”
Franklin said that people typically visit the ponds to fish, but guest aren’t allowed to swim in them. Safety rules are posted about the recreation facility’s activities, which include camping, day use, fishing and paintball.
This story was originally published April 5, 2019 at 6:00 PM.
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